New York’s Great Outdoors: “Since 1998, billboards covering entire buildings
have sprung up all over Manhattan, transforming
the Big Apple into something out of Blade
Runner. So last fall, about 35 volunteers
scouted out Manhattan’s major thru-ways, taking
notes on the outdoor advertising. Thus was
born New York’s Great Outdoors, our rough guide
to Manhattan ad creep.” For New York culture jammers, and an inspiration to others to organize against ad creep everywhere. Stay Free!

New Year’s Day History, Traditions, and Customs. Years ago, the Boston Globe ran a January 1st article compiling folkloric beliefs about what to do, what to eat, etc. on New Year’s Day to bring good fortune for the year to come. I’ve regretted since — I usually think of it around once a year (grin) — not clipping out and saving the article; especially since we’ve had children, I’m interested in enduring traditions that go beyond watching the bowl games and making resolutions. A web search brought me this, less elaborate than what I recall from the Globe but to the same point:

“Traditionally, it was thought that one
could affect the luck they would have
throughout the coming year by what they
did or ate on the first day of the year. For
that reason, it has become common for
folks to celebrate the first few minutes of
a brand new year in the company of
family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night
after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the
first visitor on New Year’s Day would bring either good luck or
bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor
happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

“Traditional New Year foods are also
thought to bring luck. Many cultures
believe that anything in the shape of a ring
is good luck, because it symbolizes
“coming full circle,” completing a year’s
cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe
that eating donuts on New Year’s Day will
bring good fortune.

“Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming
black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by
either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes
have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and
thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes
prosperity. Cabbage is another ‘good luck’ vegetable that is
consumed on New Year’s Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also
considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper
currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on
New Year’s Day.”

The further north one travels in the British Isles, the more the year-end festivities focus on New Year’s. The Scottish observance of Hogmanay has many elements of warming heart and hearth, welcoming strangers and making a good beginning:

“Three cornered biscuits called
hogmanays are eaten. Other special foods are: wine, ginger cordial, cheese, bread, shortbread, oatcake, carol or carl cake, currant loaf, and a pastry called scones.
After sunset people collect juniper and water to purify the home. Divining rituals are done according to the directions of the winds, which are assigned their own colors.
First Footing:The first person who comes to the door on midnight New Year’s Eve should be a dark-haired or dark-complected man with gifts for luck. Seeing a cat,
dog, woman, red-head or beggar is unlucky. The person brings a gift (handsel) of coal or whiskey to ensure prosperity in the New Year. Mummer’s Plays are also
performed. The actors called the White Boys of Yule are all dressed in white, except for one dressed as the devil in black. It is bad luck to engage in marriage
proposals, break glass, spin flax, sweep or carry out rubbish on New Year’s Eve.”

Ray Bruman’s List of Weird and Disgusting Foods. “I have a theory that many (all?) cultures invent a food that is weird or disgusting to
non-initiates as a sort of a ‘marker. ‘ The kids start out hating it, but at some point they cross
over and perpetuate it (perpetrate it) on the next generation. Then they nudge each other when
foreigners gasp.” Listed geographically, with a glossary of explanations attached.

NYPD Faces Challenges as Cops Leave. Police are demoralized about the pressure to maintain the crime rates at their low ebb and the blame they will garner as statistics inevitably rise again. Leaving the force in demoralization will hasten the upswing. AP

9 Million Gaining Upgraded Benefit for Mental Care. In a significant victory for mental health advocates, President Clinton acted by executive order to give federal employees improved mental health benefits in parity with those for physical ills. Both Bush and Gore endorsed the concept of parity, currently enacted in the laws of 32 of the 50 states. But the laws include so many restrictions and loopholes that equal coverage is illusory. A thorough, long analysis of the issues. New York Times

“The statistics are mind-boggling…Don’t expect any drastic changes…” Addicted to Guns. New York Times op-ed page commentator Bob Herbert finds the outpouring of outrage and grief over the Wakefield rampage abit incongruous with our societal fascination with and marketing of gun violence. “…a society hopelessly addicted to gun violence, and in deep denial about its hideous consequences.”

U.S. Signs Treaty for World Court to Try Atrocities. Powerful American endorsement of the treaty establishing a permanent international criminal tribunal by President Clinton, despite its not being legally binding without unlikely Senate ratification, comes in defiance of the Pentagon and Republicans and poses a diplomatic challenge for the incoming administration. The US’ signing, as well as a last-minute decision of Israel to add its approval (seen as a testament to Clinton’s influence), brings the number of signatories to 139. 27 have already ratified the treaty, of the 60 necessary to bring the tribunal into existence.

Senior advisers to Mr. Bush, like many Republicans in
Congress, have strongly opposed the treaty. One of them is
Mr. Bush’s selection for secretary of defense, Donald H.
Rumsfeld, who joined 11 other prominent retired policy
makers last month in signing a letter warning that “American
leadership in the world could be the first casualty” of the
tribunal.

New York Times